What an excellent book this is. The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypotik was probably my favorite book over the past 2 years and I read a lot of Young Adult fiction. This novel had well developed characters, captivating adventures and was written beautifully. But it was more than just those basics that won me over. This was more a work of literary art than what one normally expects from YA fiction, or any fiction, for that matter. This book was able to transcend daily life while still firmly planted in what we know and believe to be real. I don't like to give away what happens in books because that is part of the journey and it's best for each of us to pay attention along the way, so I won't talk much about what happens in the book, just believe that it is a journey you will be grateful to have taken.

A fun read, albeit one a little difficult to place in terms of genre: is hypnotism a real thing? or is this more of a fantasy type book? or maybe something else?

Noah is part of ValAlNo (shorthand for Val, Alan and Noah) and one night they go to a party. Noah meets another boy, one who is a little odd, and goes to his home to hang out. Nothing really happens, yet after that night Noah finds himself drifting away from his BFFs, Plus, nothing is quite the way it was before that night. Except for a few things, like his strange fascinations. And his obsession with Bowie. So maybe something did happen?

All that leads to a book that's different from the usual, one that made me think about what I do (and don't) notice about people and how I might react if things seemed different.

eARC provided by publisher.

Eu só queria que alguém me explicasse o porquê de eu nunca ter lido nada desse autor antes. Por quê? Por quê? Por quê?

The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik é o melhor YA que eu leio em muito tempo. A história é sobre Noah, um adolescente meio estranho, meio não, muito estranho, mas de alguma forma eu consegui me conectar com ele e até me identificar em algumas coisas. Noah mora com os pais e a irmã, Penny. Ele é obcecado por David Bowie (olha uma coisa em comum! já tive minha fase haha) e sempre se veste com as mesmas roupas. Noah tem dois amigos que estão sempre junto dele: Val e Alan.

Noah está cansado de todo mundo depositar várias expectativas sobre o futuro dele quando ele não faz a menor ideia do que quer da vida. Então, uma noite em uma festa, Noah fica bêbado e tudo muda. Ele tem certeza de que foi hipnotizado. Tudo está diferente agora! Seus pais que eram viciados em Friends agora estão obcecados por Seinfield. Alan que amava DC agora é super fã de Marvel! Até o seu cachorro está diferente. As únicas coisas que não mudaram foram Penny e suas estranhas fascinações.

Gente, que sensacional! Não quero revelar mais nada do enredo porque simplesmente é uma delícia você ir lendo e viajando na mente do Noah, ir acompanhando como ele vai interagindo com suas estranhas fascinações e como ele conecta várias essas coisas aleatórias nas "Histórias concisas do Noah". Ele vai se descobrindo e descobrindo coisas a respeito dos outros que estão à sua volta. Após essa noite da festa, sua amizade com Alan e Val é abalada e eles começam a se afastar, e Noah atribui a si mesmo a culpa de isso estar acontecendo.

Gostei muito de todos os personagens, sobretudo Penny, queria uma irmã como ela, que garota esperta! E Alan, que amigo, que amigo! Fiquei sabendo que a amizade deles é baseada na amizade entre David Arnold e Adam Silvera!!! Os personagens são tão verossímeis, tão intensos. Tinha horas que eu tava me acabando de rir com as "viagens" do Noah, porque às vezes eu me pegava pensando em coisas tão ou mais absurdas quanto as que ele pensava. Apesar de Noah ser meio egocêntrico e resmungão eu gostei dele, afinal ele é um adolescente e adolescentes são meio malas mesmo. HaHaHa

Outra coisa que eu adorei é que o livro é repleto de referências à Cultura Pop contemporânea: Seinfield, Friends, Gilmore Girls, David Bowie, Radiohead, Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, etc. O nome do livro já é uma referência a David Bowie!!! Nossa, eu gosto muito quando livros tem referências à cultura pop! Não pirava numa história assim desde Jogador nº1. Deu até vontade de ir ouvir os discos do Bowie e rever meus DVDs de Gilmore Girls. Não me empolgo com Friends, sorry society.

Então gente, tá mais do que recomendado viu! The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik é um livro que fala sobre descobertas, sobre o medo de mudar que o futuro provoca, sobre amizades, sobre família, etc. É um livro que faz a gente refletir sobre muitas coisas. Assim como Mila Henry é obsessão de Noah, David Arnold tornou-se minha mais nova obsessão, quero ler TUDO que ele escreveu. AMEI! Leiam! Espero que a Intrínseca publique logo aqui no Brasil.

Writing: 3 Plot: 3.5 Characters: 4

A bizarre ride through a coming-of-age story laced with philosophical conundrums on the nature of reality and our place in the world. Noah Oakman is a high school senior equally focused on typical high school matters such as girls and where to go to college and more atypical matters such as the nature of reality and his place in the universe. He is somewhat obsessed with David Bowie and his Pathological Authenticity. Spinning on Bowie’s biography — “Strange Fascination” — Noah has his own four Strange Fascinations. These play an important role when he wakes up after a drunken party to find that the world has changed subtly: his mother has a scar she never had before; his best friend Alan is now a Marvel Comic fan, rather than a DC Comic fan; and his Shar-pei “Fluffenberger the FreakingUseless” is now a highly energetic alternate animal, and thus renamed “Mark Wahlberg”. (period in quotes)

I found the novel deeply interesting, though a little long winded. To be fair, I read an advanced copy so perhaps it has been tightened up a bit. Thought provoking and appealing characters, plenty of juicy (to me) reflective commentary on the universe, and streaks of sci-fi spread throughout. Great lessons on friendship, family, doing the right thing, honesty, forgiveness, and (my favorite) the understanding that you can love flawed things.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me this book to read and review. It is a wonderful exploration into the life of a 17 year old embarking on life in college and moving away from friends, family, and his comfort zone. Noah has great parents and his sister, Penny, who love him and care about him and his fears, but this isn’t enough for Noah. His best friends, Alan and Val, love him as much as his family, but this isn’t enough for Noah. He feels like he is alone with his thoughts and desires, obsessing over an author, the old man he sees walking alone all the time, and other things that keep his mind spinning. After a party, he visits the home of a boy named Circuit, and leaves feeling he has been hypnotized and not in control of his life. Being a teen on the cusp of adulthood is always scarey, but Noah works his way through his fears by trying to find meaning in his life and a plan for his future. This is a thought-provoking, entertaining read.

THE STRANGE FASCINATIONS OF NOAH HYPNOTIK by David Arnold is indeed strange; in fact, quirky, wild, and humorous could be some other adjectives to describe this newly released novel. One reviewer called it "mind-bending." The story centers on rising Senior Noah Oakman's reflections on his life. Students will relate to the clever writing and pop culture references, like this description: "Stasis, inertia, the complete physical atrophy of a morning and early afternoon spent on nothing but Netflix: these are the things I will miss most about summer."

Actually, Noah struggles with being lonely, with lying to his parents about his back injury so he doesn't have to compete in swimming, and even with reality after being hypnotized one night at a party. That’s when Noah notices that some things seem to be changed (why does his Mom have a scar and why is his friend suddenly into Marvel Comics), while his strange fascinations (local musician, a favorite author, a man with a goiter and a woman on YouTube) remain constant. One theme is certainly taking risks, overcoming assumptions and exploring new perspectives as Noah tries to have it all make sense: "I often wonder about the subtle connectors of the universe stretching through time and space, some skipping from one star to the next like smooth stones across a pond, some left to float through the wide, aimless infinite."

David Arnold also wrote popular young adult novels titled Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite. A pdf with Discussion Questions for all three books is available on the publisher’s website. THE STRANGE FASCINATIONS OF NOAH HYPNOTIK received starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal (grades 9 and up).

Link in live post:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549176/the-strange-fascinations-of-noah-hypnotik-by-david-arnold/9780425288863/teachers-guide/

I didn't read it fast, found it fascinating, sad, filled with the main character Noah's thoughts, that soon-graduated boy who has been breaking swim-competition records, is being scouted by colleges, suddenly has a back injury. Hm-m, is there more to know? And would teens reading this understand what's really going on? I bet many will and then pass this on as a terrific book!
Adam Silvera, in part of his review, writes: "A stunning surrealist portrait, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a story about all the ways we hurt our friends without knowing it, and all the ways they stick around to save us." And it is about friends, and what happens when we think they've abandoned us. And it's about a couple of betrayals, between friends and by one acquaintance. Noah has these "strange fascinations" that become all too fantastic and true, but maybe not. Finally, they change into a few real answers that have been sought by him, knowing he's moving into his own adult life, saying: "I'm beginning to suspect a plot wherein my Strange Fascinations have been conspiring together to remind me that this world is both very real and full of very real magic."

How can I know that many teens will like this? I only hope that those who will find a kinship with Noah will read it and re-read it again. There are good things here in this story. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I review every book I read. I was unable to read this one because it was archived before I was able to read it. ? If it is re-released to me, I will read and review it. Thank you!!

This book was definitely strange, which strangely, I enjoyed.  As usual, David Arnold's writing is just superb. There were so many great insights that I would go back and reread whole paragraphs of wisdom. One of my favorites was "I tell her that if we can't love flawed things, we probably wouldn't love anything at all. And she says that makes sense, because she loves me even though I mostly ignore her, and that pretty much breaks my heart the rest of the way." After a party one night, Noah wakes up and everything is different except for five people that he has been fascinated by.  He tracks down these strange fascinations of his to figure out why these five people have stayed the same when everything else in his life has changed.  This was a great book about knowing the difference between being alone and being lonely.  The author did some amazing research for this book and did a fabulous job weaving it into Noah's story.  If you don't mind a book that doesn't fit your usual YA mold, then I highly recommend this quirky and ambitious story.

This is an odd book about an odd boy who seemingly gets hypnotized and begins living in an alternate reality. Noah and his friends Alan and Val spend all their time together, except when they suddenly don’t. Noah pulls away from them and Alan and Val continue their lives without him. This is a quirky novel, a bit angsty, but when things come together in the end, you are glad you came along for the ride. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Noah has a lot going on in his life. He's faking a back injury to avoid being forced into the path of a swimmer. He's slightly in love with both of his best friends, twins Alan and Valeria. He has a tendency to become obsessed with oddities like random YouTube videos and aged pedestrians. Then he goes to a party, gets super drunk, and lets a weird kid hypnotize him. Suddenly, all the little details of his life are slightly off-kilter and their wrongnesses are adding up. A quirky story about a kid finding his way to himself. Strong characters serve as anchor points in a landscape in flux.

This is a delightfully weird book written by a true wordsmith. I didn't want to put it down. It's like a YA version of Murakami .

I'm going to be honest with everyone, as I always am, and tell this straight to everyone's faces: I knew nothing about The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik when I first heard of it and even until after I read the first quarter of the book. Yes, I read the synopsis for this, and no, sadly, I didn't quite understand what this book was all about. Nada. The only reason why I wanted to read and promote this is because I completely wanted to support the author. (What point is there in lying about the reason as to why I wanted to read something, right?) And with that in mind, I was completely taken aback by how well thought of this book is. Read on to know why.

Weird Plot = (Maybe) Not For All Readers
As I've mentioned above, the whole plot of this book wasn't the deciding factor for me at all. I have to admit, there were scenes that felt a little blurry to me and this caused for me to re-read some pages, making me unable to read this in a fast pacing. I wanted so badly to get a grip on every single thing that was happening but the idea of Noah Oakman being Under made me feel like I, too, was Under, and I didn't like that... at first. The confusion and the innate strangeness of the story did grow on me, and I was both relieved and impressed that everything made sense at a certain point of the story. As I kept on reading, Noah's mindset made an impact on me, allowing for me to see through the weirdness of his story, giving me a different angle from which to watch the story unfold.

Great Friendship and Family Dynamics
One of the reasons as to why I loved this, though, is the plentiful scenes that featured amazing friendship dynamics between friends Val, Alan, and Noah. I loved seeing this trio together and whenever they got together for school or just to hang out, it was almost always a fun time. Seeing how well-knit they were brought me so much joy knowing that a friendship like theirs was attainable and realistic, and the fact that brother and sister Alan and Val was always there for Noah just truly warmed my heart. And towards the ending, I love how the aspect of love and forgiveness played such a vital role in these caracters' lives, allowing me to come to the conclusion that everything turned out alright for them all, both as individuals and as a group.

And the family dynamics between Noah, his parents, and Penny was also very personal and the way it was written was so heartwarmingly inspiring. Noah had this great bond with all his family members and at first, I didn't see that. I found his parents to be forceful, and controlling and I grew tired of them as they incessantly made Noah choose a college to attend and avail a scholarship from. At the time, I saw them as these flat, minor characters who were there just to agitate Noah, but in reality, they were so much more than that. Towards the ending, the author wrote such an emotional scene that I couldn't help but love them the same way I loved Noah. And Penny, Noah's sister, was just this lovable character who, to some might come across as an attention-seeking kid who craved the spotlight, but she isn't. Penny is also just your average kid who wants to know her place in the world, and I can only wish that we got more scenes about her and her life at school. That would've been great.

Perfectly Wrapped-up Ending
At this point, I'm not really sure if I should write something for the above aspect since I've pretty much mentioned everything that I loved about the ending. Again, honestly, I didn't love the first half of this book. But, as the ending came closer and closer, I saw just how much everything played their parts well to tell a story that's about acceptance, forgiveness, and what it means to be a son, a brother, and a friend. I feel bad that I wasn't able to see through all the peculiarity of the story all throughout everything, but I'm more than proud to have felt the emotions that other early readers felt as well.

"The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik has to be David Arnold's weirdest book yet, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. With his trademark main character badassery, the author is able to tell a story that's entirely fresh, unique, and just plain mind-boggling. It's true what other early readers are saying about this book. It's indeed strange, and ambitious, and what makes it very impressive is how well wrapped up everything is towards the end. I might not have enjoyed the story in it's entirety but with time, I did come to appreciate everything. Featuring great friendships and heartfelt family dynamics, David Arnold's latest will no doubt wow his fans, both old and new."

(This review will go live on May 29th as part of a blog tour hosted by the publisher.)

A big thanks to NetGalley and Viking for a digital ARC of this book.

It was quite a ride. Noah's narration is partly his own reflections (A Concise History of Me) and partly the story of the first semester of his senior year of high school. Like the cover, much of the story seems larger than life and technicolor. Noah is a neatnik and a deep thinker. The connections he makes between historical figures bring the series Seinfeld to mind. Much of the book is Noah's stream of consciousness and when I got to the end of the book I marveled at all the ways the minute details of Noah's story could all be tied together with his four fascinations. A fun read, but also teaches many a life lessons about families, friends and forgiveness. One plus one plus one equals one.

To be released this coming May 22, 2018 -- from the author of <I>Kids of Appetite</I> and <I>Mosquitoland</I>

This YA title is a cleverly woven psychological adventure that will intrigue readers who are patient through narrator musings about life and existence. The plot is deftly developed and ends well, with some realistic life events that speak to adolescent experience. Lyrical narration rather than hard-hitting action comprises the heart of the novel. A perfect read for the more cerebral teen.

I could not make it all the way through this book. I know it is a young adult novel, and I guess the language is necessary to grab the teens, and usually language doesn't both me, but here it did. Plus, I couldn't get involved enough with the characters to care what happens to them. This book is just not for me.

I read an ARC via NetGalley. I liked Arnold’s Mosquitoland, I appreciated Kids of Appetite, but I LOVED Strange Fascinations. Noah’s life has direction, but it isn’t necessarily the future direction he wants. After a high school party and a strange experience with hypnosis, the world around him is a bit altered. Noah is now paying attention to his strange fascinations and the constants in his life. There is lots of teen wit in this weird and geeky story that tackles loneliness and the choices we make. Lots of heart, realistic friendships, an interesting cast of characters, and Noah’s sister is just fantastic!

This just might be David Arnold's best! Unique, insightful and thought provoking this will have teens and YA fans turning those pages!

I am honestly finding it hard to review and rate “The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik” right after reading. To help me make up my mind, I’ll be using one of life’s decision-making hacks, also used by a character in the book: the dependable pros and cons list! Here goes: Would I recommend “The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik” to my fellow book wanderers?

PROS

1. Reading the book is like looking at an abstract painting where I can appreciate the beauty of the art but I can’t exactly pinpoint what I am looking at or what’s the artist trying to convey. It’s trippy with a dose of weird and I was pulled into it page by page.

2. Noah’s concise histories. Noah writes these things he calls concise histories which is like six degrees of separation with historical events, famous people and their birthdays and uncle’s names and their dogs leading to, of course, Noah. It’s really fascinating how he connects himself to these things. It’s like him saying, “This is me. This is my place in the world.”

3. Relatability. Noah is not the most likable main character out there. He is on the egotistic side. He is hyper self-aware that often, he sees himself more than he sees others. The plus on this is the book provides Noah’s freeflowing personal insights and opinions. It’s a fodder of teen angst and blabber. Any teen who will read this book will surely find and pick up something that he/she can relate to.

4. Strange fascinations. Speaking of relatability, having an addictive personality and being a perennial people watcher myself, I can so relate with Noah’s four strange fascinations which are basically four strangers he is strangely obssessed about.

5. It has drawings. There is a part where Noah, while contemplating the passage of time, passes time while drawing things procured by his mind. There are actual drawings on the book and who doesn’t love books with actual drawings?

6. Chapter titles. I’ve mentioned this before in the blog, I love books with catchy chapter titles.

7. Pop culture references from music (David Bowie, Radiohead) to TV shows (Friends, Gilmore Girls). David Arnold said that the book is his love letter to Bowie, so it’s a plus if your also a Bowie fan like Noah.

8. Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the book, Noah’s sister, Penny, is passionate about this film. And guys I have to confess, I AM PENNY. I have its iconic lines memorized. I sing Moon River at every opportune time. I adore Audrey Hepburn. Like Penny, I find it hard to reconcile how a problematic film as this is a thing that I love. And then came my salvation when Noah said this: “I think it’s okay to recognize a thing’s faults and still like that thing.”

9. Friendship. The “delicate triangle” friendship among Noah and the Rosa-Haas twins is definitely squad goals but the Noah-Alan duo has a special nook in my heart. They are just so earnest and funny together. And then I found out why they click with such authenticity when I saw this EW exclusive where David Arnold and fellow YA author, Adam Silvera, revealed that the friendship of Noah and Alan is based on their real-life friendship.

10. Cool Parentals. Aside from his friends, Noah has a cool set of parents to support him.

11. Mila Henry. She is Noah’s favorite author. Her book, “Year of Me”, is one of of Noah’s strange fascinations. Soundbites of her interviews and excerpts of her book are inserted between parts of the book. Her personality and her works are really fleshed out and she fascinated me so I looked her up and found out that she is just a fictitious person made up by David Arnold and I am wowed, because all that work for your main character’s favorite author is really wow.


CONS

1. I hate the epilogue because it mostly involves (unnecessary, IMHO) closure with the paper thin antagonist and love interest.

2. Paper thin antagonist and love interest.

3. The epilogue was really a letdown.


Okay, the result of my listing is clear as day. So yes, despite some flaws, I recommend you read “The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik”.

Noah's last name isn't Hypnotik (it's Oakman), but he does have strange fascinations. That's his own name for them, taken unashamedly from David Bowie's book. They are: a YouTube video featuring a woman aging day by day; the man with an enormous goiter Noah passes every day on his way to school; a picture dropped by a singer; and uncovering the hidden messages in his favorite author's works. When Noah is hypnotized (or something - he's not actually sure what happened), and he starts to notice subtle changes in the world around him, his strange fascinations remain constant. Convinced that the answers lie in uncovering the secrets behind his fascinations, he begins a somewhat obsessive quest to get to the bottom of things.

But then, well, let's just say that I did not see that coming. Or the other thing. It was quite the double-whammy, and very well done. But what really pulled me through the book was wondering whether Noah would ever figure out how to go back to being a good friend. His two best friends, twins Alan and Val, are fantastic supporting characters and add a lot of depth to Noah's story.